Burkley v. Burkley

Citations

• 266 Pa. 338
• 109 A. 687
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 568

Syllabus

<p>Wills — Construction—Estate to wife for life — Remainder “to children or their descendents” — Vested remainder — Construction of “oV’ — “Descendents”—Intention of testator.</p> <p>1. The estate of a remainderman who dies dining the life tenancy, is vested and not contingent under a will of a testator leaving a wife and four children for whom he provided by giving to his wife certain real estate for life, or during widowhood, and stipulating that, “upon” her death or remarriage, “said estate shall fall and vest in my children or their descendents absolutely and in fee.”</p> <p>2. Where the will was that of a husband and father, providing for wife and children — the natural objects of his bounty — the word “or,” in the phrase “said estate shall fall and vest in my children or their descendents absolutely and in fee,” will be construed as being used in the conjunctive and “descendents” as being used in descriptive sense of “heirs of the body,” or “issue,” of his children, where it is apparent from the writing itself, in light of relevant rules of interpretation, and from the next paragraph of the will wherein testator provides for the event of his death “without leaving issue,” that testator did not intend by “decedents” to designate a certain set of persons to take directly from him at a given time.</p> <p>3. The determination of the wife’s life estate does not depend upon an uncertain event, and the remainder in the children is limited to ascertained persons in esse, it being certain to take effect in possession by enduring longer than the precedent estate. Under these circumstances notwithstanding the remainderman did not live to enjoy possession of his remainder, it was vested, not contingent.</p> <p>Partition — Accounting for rents — Decree adjusting rents — Equity — Buies—Master.</p> <p>4. Where a bill for partition alleges the collection of rents by the defendant and prays for an accounting thereof, the court should direct the accounting of rents collected an